November 12, 2009

Community Safety: Advocates of Crime Prevention

Kamloops, B.C. - National Crime Prevention week came to a close on Saturday, November 7th with the focus of raising awareness of crime prevention strategies as well as encouraging citizens to get involved in community safety efforts.

The Kamloops RCMP in partnership with the City of Kamloops Community Safety (formerly known as Community Policing) were out in the community and engaged in discussions with a few key target groups such as seniors, elementary students and businesses. Topics ranged from personal safety to fraud awareness.

Even though crime prevention week has come to a close, raising awareness and educating citizens on prevention strategies never stops. The Community Safety Crime Prevention Coordinators and their volunteers work all year on a variety of crime prevention and public safety programs and initiatives.

A few programs that are currently operating are 'Speed Watch' which is a driver education program aimed at reducing incidences of speeding on local roads. To date, 517 volunteer hours have been applied to this program with almost 80,000 vehicles surveyed. Approximately, 20% of drivers surveyed are doing at least 10 km per hour over the posted speed limits!

'Citizens on Patrol' is a program where volunteers work in partnership with the RCMP. They patrol areas of the community in vehicles and assist the police by observing and reporting suspicious occurrences. To date, 473 volunteer hours have been applied to this program with 53 conducted patrols. Additionally, this program has helped to recover 3 stolen vehicles and 4 stolen license plates.

The Community Safety team also provides educational awareness to targeted audiences such as local businesses and seniors on scams, fraud and safety. They provide support to the 'Project Protect' campaign which is an initiative run by the RCMP Auxiliary where approximately 600 businesses this year have been personally contacted and educated on debit card, credit card and counterfeit scams.

Community Safety runs a number of these programs with the direct support of volunteers. Anyone who is interested in volunteering or would like to find out more information can contact 250-828-3818.

- 30 -

Media Contact:
Athena Smith, Crime Prevention Coordinator Community Safety
City of Kamloops
250-828-3817
asmith@kamloops.ca

Sandro Piroddi, Crime Prevention Coordinator
Community Safety
City of Kamloops
250-571-3862
spiroddi@kamloops.ca

Return to Community Safety